An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 17 C ommand of a State ship is a fundamental aspiration of those who join the operations Branch of the naval Service. Military command is unique in its implica- tions and is usually recognised in the form of a commission. In Ireland, every commission is signed by An tuachtarán, An taoiseach and the Minister for Defence; three of the State's highest office holders. After commissioning, naval officers hold a variety of appointments throughout their careers but the one that reso- nates, both within the Service and without, is command of a ship. Ship's captains (oCs) are appointed by, and at the sole discretion of the Flag officer Commanding naval Service (FoCnS). In order to mark this important mile- stone, Naval Headquarters collabo- rated with artist, Eve Parnell, in the design of a Ship's Command Certifi- cate. The artist was given a brief that the Command Certificate was to echo the style of the Commissioning Certifi- cate so that the clear, unbroken line of commissioned authority between the one and the other would be evident in the two documents, side by side. The paper was to be of equal quality and the design and artwork was to be unique, ensuring the distinctiveness of the Command Certificate versus any other official Defence Forces docu- ment or award. Eve Parnell delivered a beautiful, original piece of art. The border consists of interlaced crossing patterns charac- teristic of carved Irish monuments of the ninth, tenth and eleventh century and evoking the continuous motion of waves. The female figure represents Éire, carrying an Irish battle spear, her hair plaited like a warrior yet softly resting over her shoulder like a rope. The paper is 145 gsm, acid free Zerkall with part cotton content and - like the inks used - is of archival quality. The text was hand-composed and letter- press printed by the Artist at Distillers Press in the National College of Art and Design and the wording was developed from the commission, in which the Irish language is given priority. The new Naval Service Ship's Com- mand Certificate is now awarded to new ship's captains as a formal recognition of their achievement in reaching the position to which they have long aspired and, in its carefully chosen wording, as a reminder of the responsibility with which they have been entrusted. By Lt CDR CAoIMhín MAC unFRAIDh, SPB, DFhQ P63 LÉ William Butler Yeats Presentation of Command Certificate to Lt Cdr Patrick Doherty by Commodore Hugh Tully Hugh Tully, FOCNS (who retired last December) Eve Parnell with Lt Cdr Caoimhín Mac Unfraidh beside the Wardroom's portrait of WB Yeats by his father John Yeats The certificates border detail

• Cover